All 8 entries tagged Marathon

Not 3hrs is clearly the answer

Follow-up to 3hrs or not 3hrs, that is the question… from No I said DublIN marathon

I am so broken, so disappointed, I can't blog on this now. 3hrs 39mins of Hell. Technically 2hrs 10 mins of hell as the first 1hr 29 mins to half way seemed to be so good.

: 12 Jun 2006 19:39 |  Tags: Edinburgh Half-Marathon Marathon Running Stratford Training |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

3hrs or not 3hrs, that is the question…

Writing about web page http://www.shakespearemarathon.org.uk

… whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the pain and suffering of outrageous pace, or to take my orginal target time, and by doing so make it to the end?

First off, as a bit of an ego massage I've knocked together this image (taken from BBC Cov & Warks) which shows two runners on the absolute start line who came just ahead of me and not far behind me (place–wise). It also shows where I started – next to the loudspeaker at the back.

I've been mulling things over a bit after the weekend and I'm trying to reassess my target time for Edinburgh. There are various formulae to predict times based on previous races – from the traditional "twice your half amrathon plus 10–20 mins" to more complex systems based on several distances. Runners World UK recommend a formula that was developed empirically in the 70s:

which, from my time of 1hr 24mins 41secs predicts a time of 2hrs 58mins 38secs for the marathon. Here are how my times compare:

As you can see my 1/2M times are "better" than my marathon times. I have already completed two 1/2Ms faster than the equivalent of my target time. This begs the question – Should I revise my target time and aim for the golden 3hr target? There are several key factors:

• Coventry was baking hot and an undulating course and yet I felt relatively comfortable and "bettered" my Dublin time.
• I went into Stratford with a groin strain (which didn't surface thanks to liberal application of Ibuleve and a good warm–up, and spanked my Coventry time (and both Dublin times).
• Dublin was pretty windy and I hit The Wall towards the end. I've been training with Lucozade Carbo Gels (and had three just before and during Stratford) - how much will they help me overcome The Wall in Edinburgh?
• It was 5 years between my two marathons and I effectively didn't do any serious running at all between the end of the first and the beginning of training for the second. This time round I've kept a significant amount of my fitness from the first. i.e. I've not put on two stone since Dublin.
• Edinburgh claims to be the second fastest course in the UK, and they've made it even flatter this year – how much will this help? How true is this, and is it simply an artifact of being able to attract top elite runners?
• Training hasn't been as consistent as for Dublin, yet I was effectively doing 3hr30 times for a 3hr45 training schedule. This time round I've been much closer with the times, although still a touch under them.
• I have consistently achieved my targets time and bettered them by some way. If I set my targets higher, will this spur me on?
• I've found the countdown timer on my watch to be an excellent way of keeping track of how I'm doing overall pace–wise, when used in conjunction with the split–timer. It allowed me to keep track of how far behind/ahead of the pace I was at Stratford.

None of these particularly answer the question though. I consistently ran 6:32 miles in Stratford; 3hrs is 6:52 pace. However, this included a 6:43 – only 9 secs under pace. I don't want to find myself screwed after 17 miles because I caned it early on.

Any suggestions?

: 10 May 2006 09:00 |  Tags: Edinburgh Half-Marathon Marathon Running Stratford Training |  Comments (2) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Dave's Marathon Injury Blog Update

Writing about web page http://www.shakespearemarathon.org.uk/

Well I haven't really blogged on this (or anything) for ages. Due to general incompetence on my part and a hectic calendar I'm running the 1/2M at Stratford this weekend and running the Edinburgh Marathon on June 11th instead of the Vienna Marathon.

So having got myself all psyched up and ready, building up to 20 miles along the Camel Trail and running my little cotton socks off in a 30:03 5–miler, I was looking forward to another jaunt down the Camel trail followed by this weekend's run. So I'm running along the Trail and coming the other way is a woman walking 5 dogs – 2 on leashes and 3 off the leash. At this point the two mutts on the leash decide that it'd be fun to try and trip me up. In attempting not to kick the mongrols in the head I end up straining my hamstring and pulling my groin. This caused me to have to cut my run short when I got to wadebridge the 1st time.

After a couple of days my hamstring has calmed down and I've been able to run without much discomfort at all, but somewhere in beating the Cricket 5th Team and getting panned at 4–a–side I've mananged to pull my groin again. 1h30 on Sunday? Maybe not, but watch this space.

: 05 May 2006 16:47 |  Tags: Edinburgh Half-Marathon Marathon Running Stratford Training |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Why I hate: My big toe

Follow-up to Why I hate: Training Week 1 from No I said DublIN marathon

For crap's sake. That'll teach me to a) say training is going fine and b) criticising training.

Steau Butyl Ester played the MChem Monkeys (aka S.H.A.F.T.) sans Dev this morning and pulled off a 3–1 victory despite the monkeys having the better of the chances (well done Andy G).

I digress: Anywho, I managed to kick (accidentally, and incidentally not very hard) one of their players in the back of the foot with about 10 mins to go, and that was it, game over for me. I was able to play on for about 2 mins, before subbing into net. I left the hall and my foot hurt, but it has got progressively worse all day, so much so that I'm wussing out of my game tomorrow.

What a dickhead!!!

Toe is now a delightful purple colour. Looking forward to yet another week without training properly.

Anybody know how long a badly bruised big toe takes to heal?

: 31 Jan 2006 19:51 |  Tags: Hockey Marathon Running Training |  Comments (2) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Why I hate: Training Week 1

Writing about web page http://www.runnersworld.co.uk

To be fair the title of this post is a little harsh on "Training Week 1" and should really be titled Why I hate: My crapness at completing Training Week 1." Well, tough shit "Training Week 1", you're getting the blame anyway.

Having plumped for a 3:15 target time (9 mins faster than Dublin), the training schedule from RunnersWorld.co.uk is fairly brutal and requires me to do 32 miles this week. Monday and Tuesday were pretty good, if a little fast (my usual problem) but after that it all went tits–up. Wednesday I had a match against the Poly and Berkswell training, and on Thursday I was in no fit state to do any running, so gave myself the day off. Friday was meant to be a run, but I cocked that up but accidently having a pint in the Grad after work, and Saturday I had a match against Malvern; this pretty much counted as my slow 5–miler as they were gash and we spanked them 9–1. Sunday I was rubbish and again accidentally had a pint after Mixed Hockey training, blowing my long run – bollocks.

Oh well, that was "Training Week 1", and this is a new week (imaginatively titled "Training Week 2"), with a new resolve. Today's run was fine – I ran on the treadmill as it was nut–clenchingly cold out and I had hockey training afterwards and would get cold enough then.

I am determined to stick to the plan this week and if you see me in the Grad, make sure I've done my run. If I've not, kick my arse until I have!!!

: 30 Jan 2006 22:24 |  Tags: Hockey Marathon Running Training |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Training – Noooooooo

Writing about web page http://www.vienna-marathon.com

Noooooo, training starts on Monday for the Vienna Marathon (7th May) and the training plan I have tots up to a whopping 1065km (I tend to think in miles, but it sounds more impressive in kilometers). Oh well at least it breaks me in gently – 32 miles in the first week.

Could change the title of my blog, but quite frankly I can't be arsed.

: 20 Jan 2006 09:56 |  Tags: Marathon Running Training |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Photos from Dublin Marathon online

Photos of me and Bryan in Dublin courtesy of ASI Photography can be found here

: 05 Nov 2005 10:59 |  Tags: Dublin Marathon Running Training |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Dave Haggart 2 – 26.2 Miles 0

Writing about web page http://www.dublincitymarathon.ie

That's it, over, done, dusted, finito, completed. Bryan and I both ran pretty good times (if I don't say so myself) in the marathon on Monday. It appears that all the training paid off, although I have lost all the pace I never had, to be replaced with the ability to run in a straight–ish line for a long time.

Bryan beat his target time in a very respectable 3hrs 41mins 51secs - a good 6 minutes faster than my virgin time. However I had the last laugh, beating his arse in 3hrs 24mins 33secs – 24 minutes faster than my previous time. I'm really chuffed with the time, but disappointed with myself as I felt I could have got through in under 3hrs 20, having gone though half way a touch under 1:40. In the end it was the hill at Mile 21 that finished me and I walk/jogged Miles 24/25, before running the last mile and a bit – looking like a bit of a flash tosser as I sprinted down the finishing straight.

I can highly recommend the hostel that we stayed in – The Four Courts Hostel. It is on Merchants Quay, just down the Guinness Brewery end of Temple Bar, near the Brazen Head (Ireland's oldest pub) and unsurprisingly enough opposite the Four Courts. There were several other people running the marathon staying over the weekend and so that cut down somewhat on the noise in our 16 person dorm, although there were a couple of people each night drunkenly stumbling in at 2am, and somebody was beaten–up/stabbed/shot outside our window on the Sunday night (blood everywhere).

Anne, Cat and Matt were out round the course to spur us on, and having seen them as we crossed the Liffey at Parliament St, they then braved 3 miles in the pissing rain to Mile 10 as we exited Phoenix Park. I nearly missed them as some prat was trying to cut me up on his bike round a 90 degree bend, but spotted Matt and gave them another wave. They then got a bus back to the finishing straight and Anne picked up some footage of me overtaking a couple of people before the line.

Gained:
1 Naff looking finishers medal
1 Finishers t–shirt
2 T–shirts
1 Running shirt
1 Lions shirt
2 Sore legs
1 Massage
1 PB
1 Bottle of Jamesons Distillery Reserve Whiskey

Lost
0.25 Right nipple
1 Ability to walk down stairs
1 Feeling in my left calf
>4000 Calories (probably nearer 6000 as Bryan's heart rate monitor didn't enjoy the rain that much)

I'd like to thank everybody that has sponsored "Team Stuck In The Bubble" so far. We've raised nearly £1800 so far - just £200 short of our target of £2000. It's still not too late to sponsor us - all the money goes to Wakefield Hospice and you can either give us cash or a cheque, or sponsor us online at www.justgiving.com/stuckinthebubble

I'll add to this over the next couple of days when I get time and my brain regains function.

: 03 Nov 2005 16:10 |  Tags: Dublin Marathon Running Training |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem